Umm,
[COLOR=FF66CC]llebrekniT[/COLOR], Ella is quite the cutie, but I am not sure where the Chicago info came from. I am friends with a couple of Principals here, and more than 1 teacher. Corporal Punishment is not tolerated. Actually the teachers I know are quite frustrated because they cannot discipline the children. but that is another topic. There is a big gang problem in the schools, and the administration is not the quality it has been in the past. What I am trying to say is that all of the teachers are paranoid to touch the kids even in self defense, and the administration are very politically motivated. There are also quotas that must be filled, and when you are trying to hire from specific ethnic groups, you can't always find the best teachers.
Smaller communities get lots of "Robin Hood" money from the bigger districts, and with that outflowing of cash and taxes the school systems in the big cities do not have enough operating capital. Add this to funds mismanagement, and there is a recipe for disaster.....
(OK, I must climb off of the soap box.)
In Dallas to the best of my knowledge and belief it is not customary practice to beat children.
Oh, and Hi...
Be back in a little while.
bye!! Isn't yoga the best?? 
I do it all the time 
woe is me!
